When I walked in, Adam was there on the couch, watching something on TV I couldn’t see from that angle.
“Long day?” He smiled.
“Yup. But it’s over, and all my stuff is out of the apartment.”
“You moved out today?” He frowned, pausing the movie he was watching. I nodded, still standing by the door.
“You should’ve told me. I’d have helped, work be damned. Or told my assistant to do it.”
“Don’t worry about it. I needed the time to marinate on everything that’s happened lately.”
He scowled. He didn’t like the idea of my overthinking things. But that wasn’t what I meant. I rolled my eyes and laughed.
“Not about us. I’m happy that we kissed.”
In fact, I was pretty bummed we hadn’t gone all the way. Adam went straight to his agent after that pool kiss, and we’d missed and didn’t see each other since then.
I didn’t want to elaborate on Chris because, A. As much as I disliked Chris for what he did, I still didn’t want to out him and Johnny, and B. Because life with Chris felt like it was eons away. It was scary how easily I’d picked back up my obsession with Adam Mackay. Like it was never gone. Maybe it really hadn’t been.
Adam sat up, patting the spot next to him. “Betsy warmed it up for you.”
I loitered by the door. I really needed to take a shower. I was sweaty, my hair was a mess, and I was pretty sure two damp circles adorned my shirt around my armpits.
“Let me just hop into the shower. Do you want me to cook anything? I can make pasta.” I breezed into the hallway.
Adam pounced from the couch with feline grace, stalking my steps. “Pasta’s fine. Sure you’re okay?”“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know, maybe because you just packed up four years’ worth of a relationship into cardboard boxes and moved in with your brother’s best friend?”
“We’re not technically roommates. It’s just a pit stop.” I smiled, but inside, I was oddly sad about having to leave here soon. Which was crazy, because Adam was supposed to be a virtual stranger to me at this point.
“Whatever makes you sleep better at night, Nik.”
I walked into my en-suite. He joined me. I stopped.
“May I have my privacy now?”
“Sure.” Adam turned around, but stayed in my bathroom. Unbelievable. But I kind of liked having him there. It was nice to have someone to talk to at the end of the day. Especially this kind of day. It wasn’t that I was extremely upset, but I still felt hurt and humiliated.
“What are you doing?” I picked up my brush and ran it through my hair.
“Offering you company. A shoulder to cry on.”
“Is it sad that I’m not even that heartbroken over it?” I asked.
He shook his head, looking relieved, his shoulders loosening.
“Love comes in very different ways and forms. You can’t pick and choose how it hits you.”
I knew exactly what he meant. That was why my feelings for him were so strong still. Adam hit me like a semitrailer. Chris…like a scooter accident, maybe.
I put the brush down. “Okay. I’m getting into the shower now.”
“Have fun.”
“Are you going to just…stay?”
“If you don’t mind.”
I knew if I told him to leave, this time he’d go. But I wanted him to stay. “Fine. No peeking,” I warned, peeling my damp clothes off and dumping them on the floor.
“Pinky promise.”
I could see him through the mirror, squeezing his eyes shut in an exaggerated way that wasn’t going to win him any Oscars.
“So, have you slept with a lot of starlets?” I stepped into the shower, turning the water on. Adam was still squinting.
“I’m not a virgin anymore, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“It’s not what I’m asking. You lost your virginity sophomore year to Tina McNelis.”
I’d eavesdropped on Val every time he’d talked to Adam when we were teenagers. The walls in our house were thin and my appetite for all things Adam was insatiable.
“Damn.” Adam laughed. “Your talents are needed at the CIA.”
“I’ll be sure to send them my résumé if the scriptwriting gig doesn’t pan out.”
“It will pan out. You’re the most talented girl I’ve ever met,” he said, serious as a heart attack. “To answer your question—no, I haven’t slept with many actresses. Three, to be exact. I had a girlfriend the entire time I was at Juilliard, and after I graduated, it was pretty much work nonstop. What about you? Other than this Chris guy, did you have a lot of boyfriends?”
The hot water felt good on my body, washing the day away.
“Nothing to write home about,” I answered.
“Me neither.”
“No serious boyfriends?” I joked.
Adam licked his lips, his back still to me. “Nope. Just casual dick.”
I actually snort-laughed, my mind drifting to Chris. It felt weird not telling Adam about what happened. I used to tell him everything. Then again, it wasn’t my place to drag Chris and Johnny out of the closet.
There was silence as I lathered myself with soap, watching the muscular ridges of Adam’s triangle back in his soft white V-neck. I’d watched a GIF of him taking his shirt off in a rom-com for half an hour last night, managing by some miracle not to pleasure myself in the process. But now that he was here, in the flesh, the temptation was overwhelming.
“Hey, you won’t open your eyes or turn your back, right?” I asked teasingly.
“Trust issues much?”
“A ton, actually. Part of the reason why I broke up with Chris.”
He let out a manly growl. “I’m not Chris.”
I snuck a hand between my thighs, washing myself there, sans the
